


I Will Never Let You Fall

by Saffyre_Boo



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Violence, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saffyre_Boo/pseuds/Saffyre_Boo
Summary: Reggie bikes to the studio after a particularly bad fight between his parents leaves him injured, but discovers too late that Luke is already there. Reggie tries to minimize the severity of the situation, but Luke knows better and, as always, is waiting to catch Reggie when he falls.Only this time, things happen a bit differently than Reggie expects.
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 384
Collections: Kelly's Picks





	I Will Never Let You Fall

Reggie looked at the deep red liquid oozing out of his arm in shock, vaguely aware of the heated argument continuing around him.

“Now look what you did, Rob!”

“If the damn kid would mind his business and stay in his room, it wouldn’t have happened!”

“Typical. Blaming Reggie for your anger issues-“

“Anger issues? Oh, I’ll show you angry!” Dad bellowed.

And the yelling match continued as Reggie sat at the bottom of the staircase, forgotten, watching the blood slowly stream out like he was hypnotized. His chest tightened and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t let them fall. Instead he stood up on shaky legs and ran upstairs. The only thought running through his mind was that he needed to get out of there. 

_ Get out. Get out. Get out. _

His dad’s voice came echoing from the living room. “Maybe I’m  _ angry _ because you refuse to get a job and help out around here, and when I get home from work you don’t even have a hot meal ready. I don’t think it’s too much to ask-“

“Why do we always have this same argument?!”

“Because you’ve always been a lazy piece of-“

_ Get out, Reggie. _

Reggie grabbed his backpack and stuffed it with random clothes, his breaths becoming shallow and his chest tightening even more, like it was being wound up and preparing to explode. He swallowed back all of the emotion and focused on the tasks at hand.

_ Pack some clothes. Grab your bike. Go to the studio. Clothes, bike, studio. Get out of here. _

He had debated on going to Luke's house, as it would be far from the first time that Reggie randomly showed up at the Pattersons' doorstep to escape his war zone of a home, but he didn’t want to needlessly worry Luke and his family because of the cut on his arm. So he ran to the garage and retrieved his bike, intent on going to the studio, cleaning up his arm, and crashing on the pull-out sofa bed. He didn’t bother telling his parents that he was leaving. They wouldn’t notice, anyway, and even if they did it wouldn’t matter. If they didn’t stop their altercation when their son was bleeding on the floor, they sure as hell wouldn’t stop because said son was gone. 

Reggie began pedaling frantically down the street, cursing himself for not grabbing his favorite leather jacket because it was freaking  _ cold  _ out here. The bitter air made the bleeding gash on his arm sting and throb, but that was the least of Reggie’s worries. The sound of his parents screaming at each other was still ringing in his ears, the sight of his dad’s hateful glare as he threw the plate still burning in Reggie’s vision. For the millionth time in Reggie’s short life, he wondered why his parents were together. He found it hard to imagine a time that they actually got along and truly loved each other, but anyone could see their love in their wedding photo. Then something went wrong, and Reggie knew what that something was. He knew the reason that everything changed between them, and that knowledge settled on his heart like a dead weight his whole life.

The reason was  _ Reggie.  _ Apparently, he had been an unwanted burden since the day he was born, and his dad never failed to remind him of this.  _ “We should have given you up for adoption, Reg. Lord knows we didn’t want any kids, and our marriage has been a complete shit show since  _ you  _ showed up.” _

Reggie pedaled faster, the wind whipping away the few tears that escaped. He wasn’t a big crier, something that he worked pretty damn hard at since he was a kid, but sometimes things got so bad at home, like tonight, that Reggie couldn’t stop a few drops from spilling over. There was only a handful of times that things had gotten physical between his parents, but this is the first time that Reggie had gotten hurt because of it. Granted it wasn’t on purpose, but it still made Reggie’s stomach turn to think that his dad had caused him to  _ bleed,  _ and the fact that neither of his parents cared the slightest bit about it affected him more than it should have. He had been ignored his whole life, after all. He was used to it…

Reggie was so flustered when he burst into the studio and threw his bike down that, for a second, he didn’t notice that someone was already occupying the couch. “Luke?” Reggie froze and put his arms behind his back in a vain attempt to hide his injury. “What are you doing here?”

Luke glanced up at him with a small smile. “Just working on a song.” He set his guitar on the couch and stood to look at Reggie full on. He raised a quizzical eyebrow at Reggie’s awkward stance, and his puffy eyes and flushed face, no doubt. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?” Luke asked as he made his way over. Reggie took a clumsy step back, trying to keep his arm out of Luke’s line of sight, but it was useless since there was blood dripping onto the floor now. “Oh my god! Reggie, what the hell happened?” Luke instinctively reached for his arm. 

Reggie pulled it away and stepped backward again. “It- it was an accident!” he sputtered, not wanting Luke to get too worked up about it. “My dad threw a plate at the wall and one of the shards flew at me after it smashed, and…” Normally Reggie would have been able to joke about it so that it didn’t seem as bad as it was, or make a sarcastic comment to brush off whatever recent fight between his parents was plaguing his mind ( _ story of my life, eh, Luke? Always in the wrong place at the wrong time)…  _ but it had never been this bad before. The evidence was right in front of Luke’s eyes so there was no way Reggie could downplay this one, but he continued to try anyway. “It’s not as bad as it looks, I swear.”

Luke’s jaw clenched, and Reggie automatically felt guilty for worrying him like this. He should have just stayed home. He was perfectly aware that there was a chance that one of the guys would be here, given the fact that it was the early evening, but he didn’t even think about that in his quest to get somewhere warm and quiet, and  _ calm _ . Now he felt foolish as concern riddled Luke’s features. It was just a cut, for crying out loud! Reggie could have easily cleaned himself up and then locked himself in his room for the night to escape the yelling, but instead he had to dramatically storm out of the house with his arm still sliced open.

_ Moron. _

Reggie tore himself away from Luke's shocked stare. He shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, shoving his arm beneath the stream. The cold water stung the open wound. Reggie grinded his teeth together and carefully rubbed off the drying blood surrounding the cut, making sure there was no ceramic pieces stuck in there. 

He glanced up at the mirror and saw Luke’s reflection studying his own, his fists clenched at his sides. Their eyes met in the glass, and Reggie couldn’t stand the sympathetic expression on Luke’s face. The way Luke and his family cared so much made Reggie uncomfortable sometimes, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he just wasn’t used to affection from his own family, or if it was because, on some level, he felt like he didn’t deserve it. Reggie long ago decided to go with the first reason since it didn’t make him seem  _ as  _ crazy as the second option.

Reggie forced out a laugh and looked back down at his arm (it wasn’t that bad,  _ really _ ). “Stop looking at me like that, will you? I’m not  _ dying.  _ Now can you get me a Band-Aid or something?”

Luke obliged, but tense energy was still rolling off of him in waves. Reggie wished he wasn’t the cause of his stress.

After dabbing his arm dry with a paper towel Reggie held his hand out to grab the Band-Aid, but Luke shook his head slightly and began to open it. There was a time when Reggie would have insisted that he could take care of himself, but Luke was a stubborn person. Lets just say that if Luke wanted to do something, then that was exactly what would happen, so Reggie bit his tongue and accepted the help, plopping himself onto the toilet lid with a tired sigh. Luke kneeled onto his knees so that he was at eye level and tenderly applied the adhesive, lightly pressing it more firmly onto Reggie’s arm with two fingers. When he was finished he cupped Reggie’s hand in his own, those big, earnest eyes so close that Reggie could see the flecks in them. Reggie’s stomach started flipping around as Luke’s warmth seeped through his cold skin. He pointedly ignored that fact, like he usually did, but he couldn’t stop his heart from speeding up as Luke leaned even closer.

“Reg, I need you to tell me the truth,” he said lowly. “Was this really an accident?”

“Yes, Luke, it was. I promise.”

Luke searched Reggie’s face for any signs of a lie. He knew as well as Reggie did that Reggie sucked at lying, especially to him. Seeming satisfied, he nodded curtly and hoisted himself onto his feet. He pulled Reggie up and out of the bathroom to the couch.

“So, do you want to jam for a while or should we just go back to my house?” Luke asked.

Reggie knew what Luke would prefer to do, and he had never been able to deny Luke anything, so he replied, “Let’s play a little bit. What song were you working on?”

Luke flashed him his million-dollar smile and grabbed his guitar and notepad. Reggie read the lyrics with a growing smile on his face. The song was called ‘Now or Never' and everything about it screamed  _ Luke  _ so accurately that it was almost comical.

“This is great!” Reggie exclaimed.

Luke beamed like Reggie’s opinion was of the utmost importance. “Really?”

Reggie rolled his eyes and went to unpack his bass. “Duh! All of your songs are amazing. Me, Bobby, and Alex could try and write five songs and they wouldn’t measure up to just  _ one  _ of yours.”

Luke snorted. “Well, now you’re being dramatic, but thank you.” He began lazily strumming some chords.

It baffled Reggie how completely unaware Luke seemed to be of his own massive talent, not to mention his classic lead-singer good looks. Reggie had argued the latter point vehemently with him after a show one night: “There’s a reason this band is succeeding, Luke. Every band needs a super hot and suave front-man if they want to make it, and that’s what we have!” 

Luke had laughed loudly at this, and then turned to Reggie with a teasing smirk. “Wait, so you think I’m hot?”

Reggie blanched, cursing his runaway mouth. He’d stuttered out something like, “What- I-  _ everyone does _ -!”

Luke waggled his eyebrows. “You think I’m  _ suave?” _

At that point Reggie’s cheeks were as red as tomatoes. “That’s- I mean, from an  _ objective  _ standpoint, you’re- you’re, you know, an attractive guy…”

Luke ruffled Reggie’s hair. “Well thank you, Reginald. You’re not so bad yourself.”

Reggie smiled at the memory as he listened to Luke animatedly describe how exactly he wanted the chorus to sound in ‘Now or Never.’ Those were two things about Luke that Reggie had always been drawn to: his modesty and his passion. Of course, he was drawn to Luke for many reasons, not all of which he would ever say out loud. 

They worked on the song for a almost two more hours before they had to call it a night because Luke’s curfew was ten o'clock on weekends. In that time Reggie had nearly forgotten the chaos that had brought him here in the first place. That was another thing that Reggie loved about Luke- how he had the uncanny ability to make Reggie feel better without really having to try. Just Luke being _Luke_ was always enough to pull Reggie out of the gutter, and Reggie had no idea how he did it.

As Reggie walked toward his bike Luke grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “Dude, where’s your coat?” he asked as he critically eyed Reggie’s wardrobe.

Reggie looked down at his faded jeans and thinning T-shirt. “Oh… I forgot it. I’ll be fine, though. Your house is barely ten minutes away.”

Luke was shaking his head and shrugging off his wool coat before Reggie finished. “Here, you take this. I think I left a hoodie around here somewhere…” Luke ran up to the loft.

It wasn’t until Reggie felt the sting on his arm as he slid it into the coat sleeve that he remembered the events from earlier tonight, and boy did those unpleasant memories come stampeding back with force. Reggie actually felt dizzy as he thought about it.

But no. Reggie couldn’t lose it now. He shook his head and snatched his bike up by the handlebars with more force than necessary. Luke came bounding down the stairs, pulling a plain grey hoodie over his head.  Reggie laughed at the way it messed up Luke’s already unruly do. “Nice hair,” he quipped.

Luke flipped him off and grabbed his bike.

Xxxxx

As much as Reggie would love to believe that he was invincible, the sad fact remained that he was only human, so it was just a matter of time before what happened tonight wouldn’t be able to be repressed anymore. Reggie found that it was getting increasingly difficult to shake the memories away. It was like trying to fight gravity- he was bound to fall.

After they arrived at Luke’s house, changed into their pajamas and brushed their teeth, Reggie was sitting on Luke’s bed applying a fresh Band-Aid. The soiled one sat on a tissue next to him, and Reggie couldn’t stop staring at it. He had never been squeamish or anything, but the sight of his own blood soaking the cloth made him want to barf. Reggie was losing the battle, and his mind flashed back to earlier without his control.

_ He watched in horror as the plate flew across the dining room at an astounding speed. It hit the wall behind where Mom had been standing only seconds ago and shattered into shards and dust. As if in slow motion, a jagged piece flew straight at him and sliced into his forearm. It didn’t even hurt at first. All he felt was shock as he sank to his knees at the foot of the stairs. With trembling fingers he pulled out the shard that was lodged in his skin. His breath caught in his throat as blood started seeping out, contrasting with his pale skin in a creepy way that made the hairs on his neck stand up. _

“So what were they fighting about this time?” 

Luke’s voice was quiet but Reggie still startled, not having realized that Luke had come back in to the room. He hastily grabbed the old bandage and threw it away. “The usual stuff. I think Dad just drank more than usual…” A painful lump formed in Reggie’s throat. Dammit, he didn’t want to cry! And again the sympathy in Luke’s eyes made him squirm. Not sympathy,  _ pity,  _ and the last thing Reggie wanted was for his best friend to feel sorry for him. Reggie cleared his throat, but it didn’t help. “Ready for bed?” he asked, despising how raspy his voice sounded.

Luke frowned at him. He almost looked disappointed, but Reggie didn’t know why. 

All he knew was that he wanted this stupid night to be over. Reggie took the liberty of switching off Luke’s lamp and crawling under the covers first. Luke clambered in after him, laying so close that their noses were almost touching. He began trailing his fingers up and down Reggie’s bicep, leaving soft tingles in their wake. Reggie stopped breathing.

The movement halted as Luke felt Reggie’s arm tense beneath his touch. His hand hovered there. “Is this okay?” he whispered.

Luke had always been a physically affectionate person, yet another thing that Reggie loved about him, but tonight it felt different. Reggie wasn’t stupid- he was perfectly aware that the feelings he harbored for Luke extended well beyond the bounds of friendship. He also knew that Luke dated girls and would probably never like him back, so Luke’s affections were always bittersweet for Reggie, but _especially_ tonight.

Apparently Reggie was a glutton for punishment. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he replied after gulping down his nerves. Luke continued his comforting movements, and they lay in silence for a couple minutes, their breaths mingling together. Reggie finally closed his eyes, but the vision of his dad’s angry face wouldn’t leave him alone. 

“Reg?”

“Yeah?”

Luke hesitated before he asked, “Are you okay?”

Reggie opened his eyes again. The beam of moonlight coming in through the window illuminated the room just enough to see the silhouette of Luke’s head and shoulders. “Yeah, why?”

Luke scoffed. “Oh jeez, I don’t know. Maybe because your parents are crazy to the point that you got  _ physically injured?” _

“I’m fine, Luke. It’s not a big deal.”

“Yes, it is! Why do you always do that?!”

Reggie cringed a little at the sudden irritation in Luke’s tone. “Do what?” he asked meekly.

Luke sighed. His hand trailed up and over Reggie’s shoulder and cupped his cheek. “You act like you’re not important, like it doesn’t matter when you’re hurting, but it  _ does. _ ”

Those words are what finally made Reggie lose it and come crashing down to Earth.  _ Thanks a lot, gravity. _

“I… I don’t know,” Reggie choked, and the damn tears that he had been trying so hard to avoid all night finally came tumbling out, silent but painful. The yelling and screaming returned full force, making Reggie’s head throb.

_ Why do we always have this same argument?! _

_ Because you’ve always been a lazy piece of shit! I work and provide for you and that brat, and I still get no respect! _

_ Then just leave! _

_ You think I don’t want to leave? I fantasize every day about kicking you and that pain in the ass to the curb! _

Reggie was shaking the slightest bit in Luke’s arms, which were now firmly around him but Reggie couldn’t recall when that happened. He buried his face in Luke’s neck as hot tears streamed down his cheeks.

There was only one other time that Luke had ever seen Reggie cry and that was three years ago, when Reggie’s parents had completely forgotten about his thirteenth birthday. It had played out much like it was right now, with Luke holding him while he cried silently on his shoulder, the only difference being that, this time, they were laying in the dark as opposed to sitting on Luke’s living room couch.

“Sometimes I wish they never had me.”

Luke went rigid beside him. “ _ What?”  _ he exclaimed.

_ Holy hell, did I just say that out loud?  _ No. No, those words should not have escaped Reggie’s lips! He didn’t want to upset Luke anymore, considering how much Reggie had already stressed him out tonight. He fisted Luke’s shirt in his hand and bit his lip, deciding that it was probably best to just not talk.

Luke squeezed Reggie against him so tightly that it almost hurt. “Don’t say that!” he said sharply.

Reggie flinched at the emotion in his voice. 

Luke jolted them upright so fast Reggie got a head rush and just about flew off the bed, but Luke grabbed his shoulders. “You  _ can’t _ say that to me, Reg! Don’t you know how important you are to me? I- Jesus, I don’t know what I would  _ do _ without you!”

Reggie wanted to say that he was sorry, that he didn’t mean it, but that would have been a blatant lie because he couldn’t count the number of times that he had wished he was never born so that he wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. He pursed his lips together as fresh tears sprung from his eyes. 

Luke actually shook his shoulders. “Don’t you know that?” His face was so close that Reggie could feel his desperate breaths tickle his nose. “Don’t you know how much I love you?”

_ Wait, what?! _

And then Luke’s lips were on Reggie’s for no more than a second, a quick but forceful peck of the lips that happened so fast Reggie thought he’d imagined it. He sat frozen and wide-eyed in the dark, thinking he must have fallen asleep while he was balling his eyes out and that this  _ had  _ to be a dream, right? Or maybe he’d literally gone insane and he was hallucinating.

When it happened again, slower and longer this time, Reggie came to the conclusion that this was indeed really happening. Luke was  _ really  _ kissing him out of his senses, and  _ really  _ wrapping his arms around Reggie’s torso and gently lowering him to the bed, and  _ really  _ putting his full weight on Reggie and making his head spin. He tangled his hands in Luke’s hair, his heart pounding in his ears. Luke kissed him harder, forcing Reggie’s head to sink into the pillow as his whole being was enveloped by everything  _ Luke.  _ Luke’s hands caressing sides, Luke’s tongue exploring his mouth, Luke’s stubble against his chin, his shampoo and hot breath invading Reggie’s nostrils as he eagerly kissed him back. 

Luke finally pulled away, pushing himself onto his side so that he was propped up on one elbow, his other hand resting lazily on Reggie’s heaving chest.

“What… was  _ that?”  _ Reggie breathed.

Luke chuckled. “Most people call it a kiss, Reginald,” he teased. It was amazing how Luke always appeared to have himself so put together. How could he be so calm and collected when Reggie couldn’t even think a coherent thought?

Well, there was  _ one  _ coherent thought, and Reggie voiced it before he could chicken out. “But… but  _ why?”  _ It needed to be asked, because Reggie simply couldn’t stomach the thought that Luke was only doing this because he felt bad. The notion left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. For a second Luke didn’t say anything, and Reggie felt like he got kicked in the ribs. Why didn’t he ever learn to keep his mouth shut? He should have just enjoyed the fact that he got to kiss Luke at all, reason be damned!  _ Nice going, Reggie. _

Luke maneuvered onto his back and opened his arms. “Come here.”

What choice did Reggie have? He was doomed anyway. He scooted closer and rested his head on Luke’s chest, draping his bandaged arm across his stomach. Luke began running his calloused fingertips lightly across the Band-Aid. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said.

Reggie gulped, his mouth suddenly dry. He could tell that Luke already knew what his morbid mind was thinking. He was always psychic when it came to Reggie, a fact that Reggie found very annoying right about now. After a pause he mumbled shamefully, “That you only did that to make me feel better.”

Luke sighed like this is exactly what he expected, because of course it was. “Dude, you are  _ so  _ lucky you play bass,” he said, exasperated. “I just told you that I  _ love _ you, yet you still think I did that out of  _ pity?” _

Well, put that way, it did sound pretty dumb, but there was still one thing that didn’t make sense. “What about… you know, all the, um… girls you’ve been with?”

Luke’s hand stilled on his arm. He answered as if it was obvious: “I only dated them to try and get over  _ you,  _ not that it was working.”

“What? No way,” Reggie shook his head. That just didn’t compute.

“Way,” Luke said dryly, completely serious.

“Hold on,” Reggie said, still disbelieving because yeah, he was that messed up in his insecure brain. “You dated  _ Kimberly Chapman,  _ the hottest girl in school, to… to get over  _ me?” _

“Don’t sound so shocked! You’re way hotter than Kimberly Chapman.”

Reggie snorted but stopped himself from saying  _ ‘Yeah, right.’ _

Because he trusted Luke. He always had, and Reggie knew that Luke wouldn’t mess with him about something like this.

Luke began carding his fingers through his hair, and almost instantly Reggie’s eyes began fluttering shut. It had been an eventful few hours… it was flooring how the night started off as one of the worst in Reggie’s life. Leave it to Luke to make it a complete one-eighty, because now it was hands down the  _ best  _ night ever.

A couple of minutes later, when Reggie was just about to doze off, Luke whispered in his ear, soft but fierce, “Do you see now? How much you mean to me?”

“I’m starting to,” Reggie murmured, and then, smiling deviously to himself, he added, “Maybe I’ll need you to show me again, just so the message really sinks in.”

Luke let out a carefree laugh before planting a kiss on the top of Reggie’s head. “Very smooth, Reg.”

Reggie yawned and squeezed him a little tighter. “You’re not the only one that can be  _ suave,  _ you know.”


End file.
